Freezing can



A. L BENTLEY. FREEZING CAN.

APPLICATION FILED MN- 6. I922.

7 Patented Nov. 1922 i 2 ATTORNEY- Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

rr srATEs ANSON J'. BENTLEY, 0F NILES, OHIO.

FREEZING CAN.

Application filed January 6, 1922.

T 0 all u; homit may concern Be it known that I, Anson J. BENTLEY, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Niles,county of Truinbull, and State of Ohio, have invented an Improvement inFreezing Cans, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates generally to improvements in freezing cansused in the manufacture of ice of the type wherein means are providedfor forcing air into the can at or near the bottom so that it maycirculate through and agitate the water which is to be frozen accordingto the usual practice in what is known as the raw water system ofice-making. The invention is particularly directed to an improvedconstruction of means to connect the air supply with the can.

The invention about to be described is of particular utility inconnection with a form of freezing can shown in my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 433,163, in which the means for conducting airto a point at or near the bottom thereof consists of an integral tube orconduit formed by overlapping the adjacent wall membersand spacing onefrom the other along the overlapped portions. In cans of this type, ascompared with cans having inserted tubes, some form of connector must beprovided near the top of the can inasmuch as the walls of the conduitmust necessarily be flush with the top of the can, not only to avoid anydamage that would be occasioned in handling a can having an extension,but also to reduce the cost of manufacture. It is impractical merely toinsert a nozzle in such a conduit because galvanized metals such as areused in cans of this character are not sufiiciently smooth to permit theformation of an air-tight connection with other surfaces. more or lessroughly made in order to afford an inexpensive structure and it would behighly impractical to attempt making the upper ends of the conduits ofsuch identical cross-sections in the various cans as would be requiredto permit a readily removable air-tight connection between the nozzlemember, which would have to be used with many different cans, and theconduit. Identical similarity between the upper ends of the conduitswould be necessary. It will readily be seen that such a Further, thecans must be Serial No. 527,297.

construction is not only highly impractical, but is of such a characteras to require such exactness in the manufacture of the entire can thatthe cost would be prohibitive. Furthermore, whenever any of the conduitsare impaired near their upper ends, it is mpossible to attempt making anair-tight oint withthe nozzle member and the entire can is accordinglyuseless so far as its application to the raw water system of icemakingis concerned.

It is an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive connectingmember of a metal similar to bronze which maybe readily fixedpermanently to the conduit above described and into which a nozzle maybe readily inserted and attached forming an airtight connectiontherewith to eliminate thereby the necessity of forming a temporaryjoint between the galvanized walls of the conduit and nozzle directly;to so construct the cans and integral conduits that the connectingmember may be permanently attached without danger of its beingknockedloose or impaired in any way by the rough use to which the cans mustnecessarily be subjected. Other objects will be apparent from thedescription.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been selected for purposesof illustration and description and is shown in the accompanyingdrawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a freezing can embodying a preferredform of the invention Figure2 is an enlarged detail view of a corner ofthe can shown in Fig. 1, having the solder omitted for simplicity ofillustration;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of a corner of the can in Fig. 1,before the connecting member is attached;

Figures 4 and 5 are detail views of the connecting member; 1

Figure 6 is a detail view of the nozzle;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of one of the corners of a can showinganother way of assembling the connecting member; and

Figure 8 is a detailed view showing the connecting member soldered tothe can.

The general construction of the freezing can shown herein may be that ofmy copending application, Serial No. 433,163, filed December 27, 1920,in so far as the form of the side walls, the bottom and the conduits,except as hereinafter specified, and the joining of the several partsare concerned.

The can shown comprises two pieces of galvanized sheet metal, one ofwhich forms the side wall 1 and the end wall 2, while the other formsthe side wall 3 and the end wall 42. The third piece of sheet metal issuitably cut to form the bottom 5 of the can. The side walls may beformed, if desired, with grooves 6 for stiffening purposes. The airconduit 10 is preferably located at one of the seams of the can wherethe two sheets of metal overlap, and is made by deforming one or more ofthe overlapping sheets.

I Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the seams come at diagonallyopposite corners of the can and that there is a substantial overlappingof the metal of side 2 on side 3. A groove 7 is formed near the edge ofthe sheet forming side 3, this groove extending along the edge from apoint near the top to a point near the bottom of the can. When the twosheets of metal which have been suitably cut and bent to form the sideand end walls of the can are brought together for riveting in the usualmanner, the overlapping edge of the sheet 2 will, in cooperation withthe grooved edge of sheet 3, form a conduit which may be utilized forthe introduction of air to the bottom of the can. The groove 7 mayextend substantially the entire length of the side 3 and an opening isformed at the lower end preferably by cutting away part of the metal ofthe groove to permit the escape of the air. If desired, a hole may bemade at the lower end of the conduit and other holes may be made alongthe conduit. Vhen the sides have been brought together and riveted, thebottom piece may be assembled with the rest of the can and suitablyriveted in place. A reinforcing band 9 may be placed around the top ofthe can and likewise riveted in place. It is customary to render theseams of the can fluid-tight by means of soldering, and the soldering ofthe corner seams in the usual manner will make the conduit fluid-tightas well. It will be observed that the construction just describedprovided a very durable means of introducing air into the can. The wallsof the air conduit are of the same strength as the walls of the canitself and when rivets are placed at each side of the conduit there islittle or no danger of the conduits becoming jammed so as to interferewith the passage of air therethrough. However, it will be noted that inconstructing a conduit in this manner, it is impracticable to form anair-passage in the galvanized wall members having identicalcrosssections in} the various cans. In fact, if sufficient care weretaken to construct cans having grooves of identical cross-sections nearthe top, unless these grooves which are substantially reinforced are ofa thicker metal than is ordinarily used in the construction of freezingcans they would soon be flattened or otherwise deformed by the removalof the cakes of ice. Any irregularity or deformation at the upper end ofthe conduit would completely prevent the formation of .an airtight jointbetween the cofiduit and nozzle. Furthermore, this defect could not beremedied without replacing the entire can since the conduit is integralwith the walls of the can. For this reason it has been found thatnozzles or tubes cannot be effectively applied directly to the conduitsto connect temporarily the source of compressed air to the cans sincesuch a joint will never be air-- tight.

In the present invention, the grooved wall of the conduit 10hereinbefore described is slotted at its upper end, as shown at 11. Thisslot exposes a substantial part of the wall member 2 and permits aconnecting member 12 hereinafter described to be soldered thereto afterit has been inserted in the conduit 10. This slot not only permits theconnect,- ing member 12 to be rigidly and permanently attached to theend of the conduit 10 by per mitting the solder to be applied to a verysubstantial portion of its surface, but it also permits the attachmentof the connecting member in such a way that it is a continuation of theconduit 10 and occupies substantially the same space as the cut-awayportion which has been removed from the grooved wall. It will be notedthat the connecting member 12 furnishes no protrusions which will comein contact with the cake of ice as it is removed from the can andaccordingly there is no danger of its being impaired.

The connecting member 12 hereinbefore referred to is preferably made ofbronze or some similar material which, because of its smoothness, isadapted to form air-tight joints with other metals. There is provided atapered end 13 which is adapted to be in serted into the conduit 10 anda flat side 14 which contacts with the wall member 2 and is secured. inposition by solder 25 which is: permitted to run between the edges ofthe slot and the connecting member 12 and also between the flat portion14: and the wall member 2, thus firmly holding the connecting member inplace and also forming a'permanent continuation of the conduit 10. Thereis also provided an air passage 20 in the connecting member which mayhave its cross-section reduced at the tapered end of the member 12. Theupper part 22 of the air passage 20 is of such a size that it willreadily permit the insertion of the tapered portion 16 of the nozzlemember 15. Since both of these members are made of metal similar tobronze, a perfect air-tight connection is made between the nozzle member1:) and the connecting member 12 by the insertion of the end 16 into theupper part of the air passage 20. Integral with the tapered end 16 ofthe nozzle is an enlarged portion 17 which is formed into a nipple 18 atits end to facilitate the attachment of'a hose thereto. An air passage23 is provided which communicates with the air passage 22 of theconnecting member.

It will be noted that while it would be highly impractical, if notimpossible, to so construct the upper end of'the conduit 10 to form asnug or air-tight joint with the nozzle member 15, an inexpensiveconnecting member 12 has been provided and 1nterposed between theconduit 10 and the nozzle member 15 and which can be permanentlyattached to a conduit of any crosssection and which will always formwith the nozzle' an air-tight joint. In case of impairment of thismember, it may be readily replaced by melting the solder which holds itin position. The cost of this additional member is slight, yet itenables a perfect air-tight connection to be made with the conduit 10regardless of its cross-section and regardless of the thickness orquality of galvanized metal that is used in its construction.

Another form of applying the invention is shown in Fig. 7 wherein thereinforcing band 9 and the sheet metal 2 are shaped to provide a groove20 opposite the groove 7 and adapted to permit the insertion of theconnecting member 12 into the conduit 10 without necessitating itsprotrusion beyond the outer contour of the groove 7 It will be seen thatthe groove 7 forms a pocket into which the connecting member fits and inwhich it is secured by means of solder as hereinbefore described. Itwill also be noted that in this case it is not necessary to flatten oneside of the connecting member 12since the groove 24 and groove 7 form asubstantially round conduit at the top and a round connecting member canaccordingly be used without protruding beyond the space occupied by thecutaway portion.

As various embodiments may be made in the invention above set forth, itis to be understood that all matter herein set forth is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having two wallsections riveted together to form a longitudinal'seam, a conduitprovided by deforming one of said wall sections, a connecting memberadapted to be inserted in said conduit and to be attached to one of thewalls of said conduit, and the other of said walls having a slot tofacilitate thesecuring of said connecting member in said conduit.

2. A freezing can for use in the manu facture of ice having two wallsections tion.

3. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having two wallsections riveted together to form a longitudinal seam, a conduitprovided by deforming one of said wall sections, a tubular connectingmember adapted to be inserted in the upper end of said conduit, saiddeformed Wall section having a portion cut away at the upper end of saidconduit whereby said inserted connect ing member may be attached to saidother wall section, and the contacting surface of said other wallsection and said connecting member having a formation with respect toeach other to permit said connecting member to lie within the spaceoccupied by said cut-away portion.

4. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having two wallsections riveted together to form a longitudinal seam, a conduitprovided by deforming one of said wall sections, a. tubular connectingmember provided with an air passage therethrough adapted to be insertedin the upper end of said conduit, said deformed wall section being cutaway at its upper end whereby said inserted connecting member may beattached to said other wall section to form a continuation of saidconduit substantially within the space occupied by said cut-awayportion, and a nozzle member adapted to be inserted into said airpassage forming an air-tight joint with said connecting member.

5. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having the metal ofone wall formed to provide an air conduit extending down the wall of thecan and a connecting member secured in the upper end of the conduit, thewall of the conduit being cut away to facilitate securing the connectingmember in position.

6. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having the metal ofone wall formed to provide an air conduit extending down the wall of thecan and a connecting member secured in the upper end of the conduit andsubstantially even with the top of the can, the wall of the conduitbeing cut away to facilitate securing the connecting member in position.

7. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having wall memberscoacting to provide a complete air conduit, and a tubular connectingmember arranged in the upper end of said conduit having a bore adaptedto receive a hose connector.

8. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having wall memberscoacting to provide a complete air conduit, and a tubular connectingmember arranged in said conduit with its upper end substantially evenwith the top of the can and adapted to receive a hose connector.

9. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having wall memberscoacting to provide a complete air conduit and a tubular connectingmember permanently se-' cured to the can and connected to said airconduit and having a bore adapted to re ceive a hose connector.

10. A freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice having a downwardlyextending conduit formed between parts of the can secured together bytwo rows of rivets and spaced apart therebetween and having secured inthe upper end of the conduit a tubular connector arranged for attachmentof an air nozzle.

11. A'freezing can for use in the manufacture of ice, having an airconduit extending downwardly from the top thereof and formed by andbetween integral overlapped edge portions o-f wall material, means forfastening said wall material on both sides of said conduit and a bushingformed to receive an air hose connector ar ranged in the upper end ofthe air conduit.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this8rd day of January, 1922.

ANSO'N J. BENTLEY.-

